Lakshmana, Rama and Hanuman
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1890
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Lakshmana, Rama and Hanuman is a 1890 paint by Unknown, a Impressionism work, depicting Kalighat, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows three figures in bright, flat colors. On the left, a blue-skinned man with a black headdress holds a bow and arrow. In the middle, a yellow figure with red and blue accents is kneeling, reaching toward the blue man. To the right, a white figure with dark outlines stands, holding a staff and looking down. The figures are drawn with bold black lines, and the colors pop against the light background. This style is part of the *kalighat* tradition, a type of Indian folk painting. Next, look up kalighat to see more paintings like this.
This 19th-century watercolour and tin alloy painting on paper depicts a scene from the Ramayana in which Lakshmana lies wounded after being struck by Ravana’s shakti weapon, while Hanuman stands nearby. Produced in Calcutta during the period when it served as the capital of British India, the work reflects the Kalighat style, characterized by vivid colors, simplified forms, and rapid brushwork. The composition captures a moment of tension within the epic narrative, rendered in a manner typical of artists who migrated from rural Bengal to the city in the 1830s.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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